By Siddhant Mohan, TwoCircles.net
Senior advocate of Bombay High Court Rohini Salian has given her consent to appear in the court as Special Public Prosecutor in Mohsin Shaikh’s murder case.
28-year-old Pune based IT professional Mohsin Shaikh was lynched by members of the right-wing outfit Hindu Rashtra Sena in 2014 when he was returning from the mosque after prayers.
Shaikh’s family was in limbo after the previous public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam withdrew from his position without giving any apparent reason.
Nikam was accused of stepping down due to pressure from the right-wing groups and was also accused of having close ties with such groups.
Shaikh’s family had been trying to pursue Nikam so that he could take charge once again but when they got no assurances from him, the family wrote to Maharashtra government requesting them to appoint Rohini Salian as the public prosecutor in the case.
In her later dated July 13, Salian has given the consent to appear as a special public prosecutor on behalf of the State in Pune Sessions Court.
The prime accused in the case and chief of Hindu Rashtra Sena Dhananjay Desai is still in the jail, while 17 out of 23 accused were released on the bail for the lack of evidence.
With Salian’s appointment, Shaikh’s family has started to hope again that the case may be back on the track soon. Sadiq Shaikh told TwoCircles.net, “We have written to Maharashtra government to appoint Salian as soon as possible. It is a good news for us.”
Pune based organisation Maharashtra Action Committee is planning to meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in a couple of days over the same case.